The building of accommodation for students at Northumbria and Newcastle Universities is a huge growth area in the city

A building revolution is under way in Newcastle which is transforming the face of the city.

At the root of it is the demand for new student accommodation and the response of developers to it.

It’s a huge growth industry which shows no sign of slowing down.

We have charted the progress of new student accommodation built from 2008 to 2013 and those for which planning permission has been granted that will be completed in the near future.

When added up, current schemes alone mean in the space of around six years almost 10,000 new student rooms will have been created.

The speed of growth has created fears among some locals that areas affected like Shieldfield will became a “student ghetto” with more than 50% of the residents studying at the city’s universities.

When a planning scheme for the area between Stoddart Street and the City Stadium was revealed back in 2009, we reported how several letters of objection were sent to planning bosses, while all three Ouseburn councillors then, Gareth Kane, Gareth Cooper and Stephen Psallidas, were against the scheme, calling it a “white elephant”.

However the council’s Development Control Committee was mindful of a report showing the number of full-time students at Newcastle University, Northumbria University and Newcastle College rose by more than 40% between 2000 and 2007, and has continued to rise since. It is predicted to grow still further over the next few years.

A city council spokesman said yesterday: “Students contribute a huge amount to the vitality and vibrancy of Newcastle – and the city council has a strategy to ensure there is enough good quality accommodation to go around.

“At the same time, we are continuing to monitor the impact that a growing student population has on the city, to help us make informed decisions about future developments and get the right balance between students and residents.”

However some locals aren’t convinced saying the look of some areas will be ruined by some of the multi-storey blocks being built and the noise, litter and late-night disruption from students would have a negative impact on the community.

They say the area will be deserted when students go home in the summer.

Among recent plans is a £10m development for 388 student bedrooms on land adjacent to the Discovery Museum at Blandford Square.

It was been submitted by Leeds-based student accommodation developer Nixon Homes and is being handled by planning consultancy Nathaniel Lichfield & Partners.

Ian Kettlewell, associate director at NLP, said such developments might help less well-off families who have had to migrate out of the city.

He explained: “Through increasing the provision of purpose-built and price-competitive accommodation, students will begin to move out of lower-standard housing stock.

“This will make them less attractive to private landlords who will need to either sell or rent the properties to a different profile of occupier. As such, the proposals will assist in easing the current pressures on the Tyneside housing market through providing a greater range and choice of low-cost housing for first time buyers within the city and more affordable family housing.”